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Monoculture in Latin America

mon·o·cul·ture: noun Agriculture.
the use of land for growing only one type of crop.(Also called mon·o·crop·ping)
Video on Monoculture











As seen in the video there are different aspects of monoculture, good and bad. Monoculture has been known to cause problems within biodiversity, pollutes, eroding soils, forced displacement, deprivation of natural resources, and damage of health from pesticides and herbicides.
Different countries within Latin America face the negative affects of monoculture. These countries include: Mexico, Columbia, and Ecuador (African oil palm plantations); Central American and Brazil (sugarcane); Argentina (soybeans); Costa Rica (pineapples); and Chile (forestry industry).


Chile: Forestry Industry

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Central America + Brazil: Sugarcane


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Argentina: Soybeans

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Costa Rica: Pineapples

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Columbia + Ecuador + Mexico: African Palm Oil

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20th century is when monoculture was introduced to Latin America. It continued through the 1970's when Latin American countries became commodity suppliers to industrialized nations.

The phenomenon "is part of a complex web of control and domination that includes the struggle for power, financial markets, the exploitation of labour and energy sources," says Gerardo Cerdas, the Costa Rican coordinator of Grito de los Excluídos Continental (Continental Cry of the Excluded).
Monocultures are now being developed to produce raw materials with the main goal being: supply the United State's energy market. Which they are creating Ethanol from sugarcane and biodiesel from African palm oil. The need for biofuels comes from the dramatic decline in oil production.
The main producer in Latin America of ethanol from sugarcane is Brazil, around 7,132,645 gallons are produced each year and Brazil hopes to replicate its production model in Mexico, Central America, Japan and several African countries.
Organizations that oppose monocultures want to express their case at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) Committee on World Food Security's next session. "International aid has supported agribusiness rather than small farmers," said Landívar.
The organization ris recommending creating more diverse agriculture, making food for family needs, making sure to be eco-friendly when farming crops, reducing energy cost of agricultural systems and o productively use generated biomass by agriculture.




All information from: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51818

All images from: https://www.google.com/ and http://www.wikipedia.org/